X
  • 1963
  • Approved
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 2 h 44 m
  • 1963
  • Approved
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 2 h 44 m

Summary A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century - including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.

Directed By: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe

Written By: James R. Webb, John Gay

  • 1963
  • Approved
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 2 h 44 m
  • 1963
  • Approved
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 2 h 44 m

How the West Was Won

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings
7.2
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century - including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.

Directed By: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe

Written By: James R. Webb, John Gay

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
33% Positive
2 Reviews
67% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
33% Positive
2 Reviews
67% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
91
Despite wooden performances, the final feature filmed in true Cinerama is great fun and holds a wiiiiiide spot in cineasts’ hearts.
FULL REVIEW
70
It's a story [suggested by the series How the West Was Won in Life magazine] which naturally puts the spotlight on action and adventure, and the three directors between them have turned in some memorable sequences.
FULL REVIEW
60
The main problem remains the impossibility of subjecting a film that is fundamentally about landscape and history to the demands of such a coarse dramatic form.
FULL REVIEW
60
A grand folly, but lots to love.
By Kim Newman FULL REVIEW
40
How the West Was Lost would be a more appropriate title for this dud epic, since, as conceived by the writer, James R. Webb, the pioneers seem to dimwitted bunglers who can't do anything right.
By Pauline Kael FULL REVIEW
40
With little or no imagination and, indeed, with no pictorial style, despite the fact that the three directors were Henry Hathaway, George Marshall and John Ford, they have fashioned a lot of random episodes, horribly written by James Webb, into a mat of outdoor adventure vignettes that tell you nothing of how the West was really won.
By Bosley Crowther FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings
7.2
78% Positive
7 Ratings
22% Mixed
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings
7.2
78% Positive
7 Ratings
22% Mixed
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Cinerama Productions Corp.
Release Date Feb 20, 1963
Duration 2 h 44 m
Rating Approved
Genres
Tagline A FABULOUS ROMANTIC ADVENTURE
View All Details

Awards

Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Wins & 8 Nominations
American Cinema Editors, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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